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3/25/11 5:50 AM | Ricky Dimon
Robin Soderling and Milos Raonic will begin Friday's schedule with their Miami openers. They are set for meetings with Ivan Dodig and Somdev Devvarman, respectively.
Ivan Dodig vs. (4) Robin Soderling
Soderling will be looking to bounce back from an early loss in Indian Wells when he takes the court in round-two action at the Sony Ericsson Open on Friday. The fourth-ranked Swede was suffering from a foot problem when he fell to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round. Still, Soderling is in the midst of a stellar season and he boasts an amazing 19-2 record with titles in Brisbane, Rotterdam, and Marseille.
Following an opening-round bye as Miami's No. 4 seed, Soderling is set to take on Dodig for the first time in his career. Dodig is enjoying his best year on tour, having already picked up 11 of his 21 career ATP match victories. The 26-year-old Croat won the Zagreb title in his home country and kicked off his Miami campaign on Wednesday with an impressive 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-0 dismissal of Andrey Golubev. A Dodig upset is not out of the question, but Soderling should advance if he is 100 percent.
Somdev Devvarman vs. (31) Milos Raonic
Devvarman and Raonic will be squaring off for the second time in their careers (first at the ATP level) when they meet in the Miami second round on Friday. Their only previous encounter came last year in the Tashkent Challenger, where Raonic prevailed 6-4, 7-6(5). Devvarman, though, already appears to be a different player just a few months later. He is up to a career-high ranking of No. 73 in the world and is coming off a fourth-round appearance in Indian Wells. Devvarman opened in Miami on Wednesday and cruised past Potito Starace 6-2, 6-4.
Raonic is also in outstanding form as the current breakout sensation of the ATP Tour. The 20-year-old Canadian is 16-4 on the season, with great showings at the Australian Open (fourth round), San Jose (champion), and Memphis (runner-up). Raonic, who earned a bye this week as the No. 31 seed, advanced to the BNP Paribas Open third round before falling to Ryan Harrison in arguably the best match of the tournament. This will be an intriguing contrast of styles and Devvarman could take a set if his opponent has an off day on serve, but look for Raonic to get the win.
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its back to serve, 5-5.
champ00289 , 3/25/11 5:00 PM
hang in there somdev!
vrael , 3/25/11 5:01 PM
Go for it...Tie Breaker..
champ00289 , 3/25/11 5:08 PM
1st Set Somdev...
champ00289 , 3/25/11 5:17 PM
Yes!
vrael , 3/25/11 5:22 PM
Somdev, keep it up!
holdserve , 3/25/11 5:27 PM
just as I thought...Soderling will be sent packing soon...
natashao , 3/25/11 5:38 PM
I doubt that Soderling is fit.
Somdev might lose the second set.
holdserve , 3/25/11 5:43 PM
second set back on serve...4-4..
champ00289 , 3/25/11 5:59 PM
Soderling will server for match..
champ00289 , 3/25/11 6:03 PM
Soderling has proved his class. A champion wins even when he is not at his best.
holdserve , 3/25/11 6:10 PM
Somdev wins!
holdserve , 3/25/11 6:13 PM
Devvarman beats Raonic in straight sets.
nadline , 3/25/11 6:13 PM
Somdev in tight straight sets, 7-6, 7-5...
gorafago , 3/25/11 6:13 PM
Ricky, 50% predictions correct! Soderling bailed you out by getting a win. Otherwise, you would have been 100% wrong.
holdserve , 3/25/11 6:17 PM
Somdev i would like to see you below 50 rank. common next Ferrer tern
venkianz , 3/25/11 6:17 PM
well done somdev
vrael , 3/25/11 6:18 PM
just as I thought...Soderling will be sent packing soon...
natashao
, 3/25/11 5:38 PM
By soon you must have meant next match? Never count your chickens before they hatch.
numero , 3/25/11 6:21 PM
venkiaz, you mean above 50? In ranking, the lower numbers are above. So the highest rank is #1. 49 is above 50.
holdserve , 3/25/11 6:32 PM
wow, just got back home to find out Soderling managed to win...good for him...I appreciate his effort...it is not that I care though...he is not one of my favorites anyway..
natashao , 3/25/11 6:54 PM
impressed that soderling managed to win despite his injury. dont think he has much left to carry on further though, he should rest if he wants to defend those final RG points.
on the other hands, congrats to somdev! really really happy for him, he's having a brilliant start to 2011.
mriiidula , 3/25/11 7:55 PM
great match by Somdev. Great match. Not so much for Milos.
RickyDimon , 3/25/11 8:30 PM
Congrats to Somdev, well done. He's proven his worth by giving both Fed and Rafa some inconveniences and now get rid of the hottest new kid on the block.
luckystar , 3/25/11 9:45 PM
QUESTION:
Who is showing the tennis??? How are you watching it? Because none of the 5 sports channel, including Espn are showing it.
isabeau77 , 3/25/11 10:13 PM
I think these young players like Raonic and Harrison are being done a great dis-service by being over-hyped for not having really achieved anything yet. They are taking their eyes off the ball so to speak and probably thinking they've arrived when they've hardly started on their journey.
They should be left alone to develop their games instead of filling their heads with hype by comparing them to legends of the past. Milos won a 250 tournament and all of a sudden he is the next Sampras.
nadline , 3/25/11 10:19 PM
Isabeau77 - because I am at the tournament, that's how!
RickyDimon , 3/26/11 12:20 AM
yayyy, good win for Somdev. Whadda ya know. It was only a matter of time for Raonic to lose some of his confidence. He'll always be a threat though, but nothing in his game that a good returner cannot handle, except for the serve.
Too bad so little TV coverage a.t.m.
juliette , 3/26/11 12:24 AM
RickyDimon,
Lucky you!
But how is everyone else watching it?
isabeau77 , 3/26/11 12:37 AM
By telepathy, isabeau77...
gorafago , 3/26/11 1:39 AM
Not watching, score boarding.
Well so these up and comers will realize that it's never easy competing at this level week in week out. They should come to respect and admire how good and consistent Fed and Rafa are all these years! Even some of the seasoned competitors can't do it week in week out, as some do well in one tournament and get knocked out early in the next.
luckystar , 3/26/11 2:39 AM
isabeau,
Ricky has been kind enough to live blog his observations of the matches, since he is lucky enough to be there in person.
There is no tv coverage today. I don't know if you have the tennis channel, but they will be broadcasting the matches all day tomorrow. Rafa's match is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. my time on the west coast, 8:00 p.m on the east coast of the U.S. I don't know where you live. Also, I am assuming that there will livestreams available.
Nice to see you hear! If you have any thoughts about Rafa's serve, I would love it if you would share them! :)
Nativenewyorker , 3/26/11 2:56 AM
Sorry, typos! I meant to say that I am assuming that there will BE livestreams available tomorrow, too.
Nice to see you HERE!
Nativenewyorker , 3/26/11 3:01 AM
Score boarding again. Delpo vs Kohl 4-4 third set. What is it in Kohl's game that can trouble Delpo, that Delpo has to go to the limit(incl going to tie breaks) to beat him?
luckystar , 3/26/11 3:49 AM
Kohls is a better returner. Delpo is hit or miss with his hit as hard as I can, FH .
juliette , 3/26/11 3:52 AM
Ok thanks Juliette, maybe that explains why Kohl can take a set off Fed on grass and a set off Rafa at the AO.
luckystar , 3/26/11 6:56 AM
holdserve
hahha....hahha.... Common he is already 73 rank, i mean i would like to see him in between 40-50 rank
venkianz , 3/26/11 7:17 AM
venkianz, Ricky thinks Somdev could be a top 50 player. This win over Raonic should have improved his ranking a bit. But I doubt that he will get past Ferrer in the next round. But you never know.
holdserve , 3/26/11 7:55 AM
NNY-
Nice to see you too :)
Regarding rafas serve, nothing is wrong, he just had a bad day, that's all. He is human :)
In any case he is playing better at this time this year than he was last year at this time, so it's all positive!!!
isabeau77 , 3/26/11 12:33 PM
Yes isabeau, we tend to forget that last year this time Rafa was in a worse place than he is right now. The thing is no one can be at their best everyday, although I have to say it IS frustrating when he loses a match he was clearly winning, like IW and his matches against Davy, Roddick and Ljubicic last year. Usually if he is sailing in the 1st set, you just put the champagne in the freezer for a quick chill and get the glasses ready.
I hope his fans will have a smile on their face by the end of May.
nadline , 3/26/11 1:57 PM
Well, I would like to put the champagne in the freezer for a quick chill and get the glasses ready in Miami! :)
isabeau,
If you are not worried, then I won't be either! You and nadline are correct, of course. This time last year Rafa hadn't won a title in ten months and was coming back from another knee injury.
I think it just takes a bit of time for Rafa to get his confidence back, feel good on the court and get into his best form.
Good luck, Rafa!
Nativenewyorker , 3/26/11 6:08 PM
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SOMDEV is ahead....VAAMOS!!!
vrael , 3/25/11 4:45 PM